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Missing woman may be linked to bloody crime scene

Police have identified a missing woman after her blood-stained car was found in downtown Orangeville on Monday morning.

Police have been searching for Sonia Varaschin, pictured in 2008, since her blood-stained car was found abandoned in downtown Orangeville. (ANDREW LAHODYNSKYJ / TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO)

By Peter EdwardsEmmanuel SamoglouNoel Grzetic

Tues., Aug. 31, 2010

Police investigators are holding out hope that a 42-year-old Orangeville woman is still alive, even though blood has been found splattered in her car and home.

“Hopefully we will find her safe and sound,” OPP Const. Jonathan Beckett said this afternoon.

Sonia Varaschin, 42, a former nurse at the hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, was last seen on Sunday evening. Her family members reported her missing to local police.

Police tracking dogs are taking part in a grid search that includes a rough swampy area outside town and an OPP helicopter is hovering over the quiet downtown parkette where police found Varaschin’s white four-door Toyota Corolla around 10 a.m., parked in an alley near Broadway, with its trunk and front doors wide open.

Officials later announced a second crime scene.

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Investigators are questioning neighbours and combing Varaschin’s Spring St. apartment, where more blood was discovered, says Orangeville Police Chief Joseph Tomei. The apartment complex is about a five-minute walk from Alexandra Park, where Varaschin’s Toyota was found.

“We’re hopeful the search comes to a good fruition for us, but it is suspicious,” Tomei told the Orangeville Banner, adding that the incident appears random, but it’s “too early” to say with certainty.

Beckett told the Star’s Peter Edwards that he wasn’t aware of any noises coming from the home on Sunday night but appealed to neighbours to immediately call police if they heard anything.

“Obviously we’re very concerned for her safety …,” Beckett said. “There was blood at the residence.”

Varaschin is described as 5-foot-one and 125 lbs. with brown hair and light brown streaks.

Varaschin’s family members are distraught and had little to say to reporters early Tuesday.

“This is really traumatizing for my family,” said the woman’s sister, Nadia Anderson, from her Bolton-area home. Her mother, Michele Varaschin, said her daughter is single and has no children.

Neighbours describe the area surrounding Varaschin’s Spring St. apartment as quiet, residential and friendly.

Residents of the tidy townhouse unit where she lived were skittish about talking about her disappearance, however two women who were immediate neighbours said they will now be locking their doors.

“It has generally been a nice place to live,” said next door neighbour Cindy Downey. “Up to now, I haven’t had a worry.”

“Now I’ll definitely be locking my doors at night,” she said.

Another neighbour, who identified herself only as Stephanie, said Varaschin was a quiet neighbour who didn’t cause any disturbance.

“She seemed pretty nice,” Stephanie said, “She was totally fine.”

The townhouse complex where she lives is geared toward young families, with a tiny children’s park just a few steps from the missing woman’s home.

Brandon Lundy, 20, a tenant in Varaschin’s building, said he doesn’t feel as safe as before and never expected something like this to happen in his neighborhood.

“All that stuff happens in Toronto,” said Lundy.

As the investigation progresses, local residents are watching in disbelief.

“A helicopter continues to eerily circle above my home, which I’m assuming is searching for the missing Orangeville woman,” wrote an area photographer named Gillian on Twitter. “Makes me sad.”

Local police have no suspects at this time. They are collaborating with Ontario Provincial Police in what they are still calling a missing person’s case.

More than four dozen police officers are taking part in the massive search.

Beckett repeatedly declined to speculate on what might have happened to her on Sunday night.

“I’m not going to go down that road at this point,” he said.

Anyone with information about Varaschin’s whereabouts or details of her disappearance are asked to contact Orangeville Police Service at 519-941-2522 or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

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